Wielding the Shovel Comes First

When I first joined Boy Scouts, I was surprised at all the manual labor required during the various service projects throughout the year. In fact, most weekends involved some sort of digging, walking door to door, or teaching activity to give back to the community. The hard work taught me several valuable lessons, but I can still remember wishing I could lead instead of doing the work. At the time, I thought that leadership was an easy concept that anyone could master.

After my first several months in Scouting, I was eventually given my first opportunity to lead. I was given the chance to lead my own patrol of scouts on a camping trip and ensure that all tents, cooking items, and campers were taken care of. More importantly, I was expected to lead my peers when it came to tasks like setting up and cleaning up our campsite. Finally, I thought, I could simply lead and not have to get my hands as dirty as normal.

I could not have been more incorrect. Especially as a young scout, it was difficult to get my peers to listen to me because they only saw me as their friend. In addition, I often had to grab a hammer myself and show the other scouts how I wanted certain stakes to be placed in the ground. Almost every aspect of the camping trip required my assistance in some way where I had to lead by example. Leadership was not as easy as I once thought. In fact, leading a group was much harder than just picking up the shovel and doing the dirty work.

As I eventually reached the initial planning of my Eagle Scout project in 10th grade, the massive amount of communicating, coordinating, and leading really began to make me reminisce. Less than a few years prior, I thought leadership was the easy part; where someone was just getting out of work to bark orders. Now, I finally understood the truth. I had to really wield the shovel firsthand to understand what it means to lead. In addition, I now have a much stronger appreciation for leadership and the incredible amount of energy and focus it takes to successfully encourage others.

In life, I hope to carry this concept forward by being thankful for the opportunities to grab a shovel and really do the dirty work. In the end, I know that hard work pays off because it allows a higher quality of leadership to develop. A greater appreciation for the components of teamwork allows me to truly see that you get out what you put in, and grabbing that shovel is the best thing you can do to overcome future obstacles.

Image Credits (in order of appearance):

Image provided by nist6dh
Image provided by Vienze Ziction

Just Keep Swimming

I have always loved swimming and water sports, but I was slightly nervous for this day. In order to gain the swimming merit badge and progress to the next scouting rank, I had to dive to the bottom of an artificial lake at Camp Shenandoah and retrieve a small weight from the bottom. Beforehand, I had dived down halfway and saw a large school of fish swimming right under the dock. Additionally, one of my close friends cut his foot on a rock resting on the bottom the day before. To make matters worse, the visibility of the water became worse the deeper I swam.

I waited the entire length of the class to take my turn and dive into the water. Before my instructor asked me to be tested, I took another test dive into the water. Instantly, I oriented my body and started swimming downward. Soon, the water become extremely cold and I couldn’t see anything in front of me through my squinted eyes. Running out of oxygen, I returned to the surface of the water without a speck of dirt in my hand. This failure made me even more nervous for my actual testing.

During the whole swimming merit badge class, I had to deal with a new feeling: uncertainty. Even though I was on a swim team back home and was normally comfortable in bodies of water, this murky-brown lake was something I was not at ease with. I felt like I wasn’t really taking advantage of my skills as a swimmer, and that the other students were progressing faster than myself. Dejected, I dreaded the moment I would be tested.

Finally, it was my turn to be assessed on my ability to retrieve a small brick from the diving section of the lake that varied between ten and fifteen feet deep. After the instructor threw the brick off the dock, I took a deep breath and jumped into the water. Time seemed to slow down as I headed towards the darkness of the lower lake. As soon as the water grew cold, I thought about returning to the surface. I shook this thought off and kept swimming. Then, in the blurry water, I noticed several fish. Again, I panicked and thought of returning to the surface. Right before I had to turn around, I noticed a large red brick just a few feet away. With my goal so close, I kept swimming down. I grabbed the object, kicked off the bottom of the water, and swam back to the surface.

After I came out of the water, I took several deep breaths and reveled in my success. I had accomplished something when it counted by swimming with a goal. I believed that I had accomplished the feat by being able to see my goal at the end. Seeing my goal drove me to keep swimming, and this is something I have used since in life. Whenever I am unsure of myself in a challenge, I try to visualize the end goal and “swim” towards that. Seeing myself obtain my goals can help drive me during the difficult parts of life. To me, I have realized that I can accomplish many things as long as I just keep swimming.

Image Credits:

Image Provided by Rob Purdie

Only Bring What You Need

Another important lesson I learned from Boy Scouts was a simple one: never bring more than you need to. While this is generally a sound concept, it conflicted with a lot of ideas I had about Scouting and life in general at the time.

Scouting has a very specific set of guidelines to follow in regards to behavior and how to be ready in all circumstances. For example, the Scout Motto is "Be Prepared." When I began my Scouting journey, I imagined the perfect Boy Scout having a tool ready for every situation while out in the world. Taking this belief with me, I recall packing my bag for my first summer camp.

My face was sweating as I tried frantically to shove all of my extra clothing, tarps, knives, ponchos, ropes, trash bags, and other gear right alongside my pillow, toiletries, and sleeping bag. As my brother walked into my bedroom, he looked surprised to see my bag so full. Reminding me of his seniority and experience, my brother took me over to his room to see his bag. All of his clothes were neatly rolled and placed in the foot of the backpack. The entire bag looked rather empty, minus a few bulges here and there. My brother took the time to explain to me that it was important to only bring what I needed for the trip, or else I would be weighed down by all the unnecessary gear. Regardless of his advise, I decided to bring everything.

After trudging to my campsite and placing my immensely heavy bag on my cot did I realize how big of a mistake I had made. As soon as I opened my bag, items poured out all over the wooden plank floor. I scrambled to pick up a toothbrush and flashlight before they fell through the cracks. I finally understood what my brother had told me was true. In fact, I realized that packing light was vital to having a successful camping trip.

The next time I packed my bag for a camping weekend, I made sure to pack as light as I could, while still bringing the essentials. The entire weekend went smoothly and I easily stowed my gear in a location that I felt was organized and easy to access.

Over time, my understanding of the motto "Be Prepared" began to change. I no longer thought that being prepared meant having an item for every situation. Instead, I discovered that being prepared requires an individual to be ready to act and adapt in any situation, no matter how challenging. Life always has a way of throwing curve balls, and the ability to remain on high alert is vital to getting through it. From that first camping trip forward, I only brought what I needed for every situation. I did, however, always remember to "pack" my mental readiness to act and adapt.

Image Credits:
Image Provided by: AI_HikesAZ